IRAN is a vast country spanning an area more than twice that of Pakistan with a population nearly one third of ours. Rich in natural resources, Iran possesses the second largest gas reserves, fourth largest crude oil reserves and significant non-fuel mineral resources. The people of Iran, called Persia until 1935, are deeply proud of […]

NEARLY every country facing the kind of security challenges that Pakistan confronts maintains a national security council (NSC) as a principal decision-making body that brings together the civil and military leadership onto one platform. However, in Pakistan, this idea has not been fully embraced. Gen Ayub Khan constituted a national advisory council to give the […]

THE year 2024 could not have started on a worse note. First, a humanitarian catastrophe of genocidal proportions has been unfolding in Gaza for over three months, owing to daily attacks by Israel’s defence forces. The Houthis are attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea, obliging the US and other countries to mobilise their navies. […]

PAKISTAN’S national security has lately been under threat on its eastern as well as western borders. On the eastern frontier, India’s attitude towards Pakistan has unfortunately hit a new low. The Modi regime is constantly innovating prickly ways to assert its growing hubris in the neighbourhood and beyond. Its latest practice is to deploy assassins […]

PAKISTAN is in the grip of bad news. While much of it is fake because the detractors of Pakistan are at work, some of the bad news is also real. Decades of bad governance has shaken the confidence of the people in the rulers they elect or even in the system which brings them to […]

AS relations between India and Pakistan remain frosty, a theatrical play in Washington has stirred conversations on peaceful coexistence, inter-faith harmony, and the need for a fresh look at the history of the two countries. The play Gandhi and Jinnah return home, discussed at the Karachi Literature Festival last week, describes how far the two […]

PAKISTAN is passing through a challenging time. A divisive and polarising politics, economic uncertainties, and the continuing threat of violent extremism are some of the fault lines that impede the country’s path to stability. India, on the other hand, seems to be politically stable and economically well-off. However, if one were to scratch this veneer […]

AS the new government settles down, it is confronted with a broad spectrum of challenges that demand immediate attention and strategic action. Internally, political instability, economic fragility, and growing security threats have taken a heavy toll. Externally, the fracturing world order, intensifying US-China rivalry, an aggressive neighbour to the east, and a volatile situation to […]

A 10-POINT priority agenda evolved during various conversations convened by the Sanober Institute was laid out in my article, ‘Setting priorities’, last week. However, setting priorities can only be effective if accompanied by an implementable action plan. To that end, there are essentially five sets of actions that the government should consider in order to […]

FOLLOWING Liaquat Ali Khan’s assassination in 1951, Pakistan witnessed a carousel of prime ministers, with six leaders in seven years, each serving an average term of 14 months. The wobbly start not only destabilised governance, but also paved the way for Gen Ayub Khan’s first military coup. The constituent assemblies floundered, and could not agree […]